The Cinnamon Club

This ground-breaking Indian restaurant finds its home in the other-worldly Victorian surrounds of the former Westminster Library, making a happy marriage out of two of the UK’s most cherished passions: its history and its adoption of curry as a national dish.

Two of the restaurant’s walls are covered in classic books – the result of a fairly recent £1million makeover – which reaches the ceiling and frames the gallery level to create a fairy-tale feel. Despite the pretty surrounds, the atmosphere can sometimes be lacking due to an absence of music and a rather male-dominated clientele (which perhaps isn’t surprising given the restaurant’s position near the Houses of Parliament) that means there is one loud hum to proceedings.

Background noise aside, the food fares much better than the ambience. Head chef Vivek Singh trained classically in India and the plates carry the hallmark of someone who has spent years perfecting their craft and has then been brave enough to put their own spin on things.

Octopus to start comes soft-centred with gloriously intense crispy bits and potatoes in a bright curry sauce flavoured with sharp lemon. Indian food often lends itself to family-style dining, but communal plates have had a fine-dining makeover here. Rich butter chicken is served on a silver platter; the curry house classic is familiar and elevated at the same time and comes with a creamy black dal, pilau rice peppered with whole fragrant spices, plus a punchy garlic naan to mop up the generous quantities of sauce. Game in season is always a great choice.

To drink, pretty cocktails promise a colourful riot of exotic flavour, though we found the in-house creations erred on the side of the saccharine; better to investigate a groundbreaking wine list that expertly matches the qualities of individual grapes to the intricacies of complex spicing.

Despite any gripes over atmosphere, Singh’s careful balance of flavours offers an exemplary Indian dining experience and with a permanently packed dining room, and we’re not the only ones with an appetite for his clever cooking.

When The Cinnamon Club opened in 2001 it offered up a fine-dining experience when the majority of Indian restaurants in the capital were still subscribing to the curry-house format that had propelled the popularity of the cuisine in the UK.

Classically trained in India, chef Vivek Singh understands the building blocks of age-old cooking techniques and couples them with contemporary twists on classics for unusual and surprising creations that have helped to push his restaurant into the premier league of London eateries. Additional accolades include Singh having authored five bestselling cookbooks and appearing regularly on cooking programmes such as Saturday Kitchen and Celebrity MasterChef.

The Cinnamon Club has undergone a £1 million refurbishment to transform its home in the old Westminster Library into a bright and modern space that still retains much of its original character. Old books line two sides of the dining room while walls are painted bright white and a mezzanine level adds additional seating without detracting from the double-height space.

Priding itself in catering for every eventuality The Cinnamon Club offers all sorts of special menus, including a vegan one which offers a wonderful selection of plant-based Indian dishes. From the main menu you can expect creations like a Bengali-style lobster thermidor and a 48-hour marinated pheasant breast in pickling spices. For those who enjoy communal dining there is also a handful of signature sharing mains, like the Old Delhi-style butter chicken and a whole rack of lamb in a corn and yoghurt sauce.

The Cinnamon Club also offers private dining spaces for special occasions and serves meals from first thing to late into the evening, with a breakfast menu that includes unexpected dishes such as a full traditional cooked English breakfast.